A woman who angrily doused an "old friend" in petrol and set him alight for making a misogynistic comment was suffering from depression and substance abuse, a court has heard.

Corbie Jean Walpole, 24, earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of burning or maiming by using corrosive fluid.

Her victim, Jake Loader, was 23 when he was found with life-threatening burns at a southern New South Wales home in Howlong on January 7 last year.
Walpole tearfully appeared before the Albury District Court today expecting to be sentenced.


Violent response

The lifelong friendship between Walpole and Mr Loader became strained by antagonistic behaviour between the pair in the hours before she set him alight, the court heard.


Mr Loader and Walpole had been partying in Howlong with friends and returned to her backyard about 5am to keep drinking.

Most of the group was heavily intoxicated, and Walpole had consumed cocaine.


Walpole had described Mr Loader as being antagonistic towards her throughout the night, trying to wrestle her and wake her sleeping boyfriend.

"I was feeling overwhelmed by [Mr Loader's] presence and I didn't know what to do," she told the court.

Her anger then flared when Mr Loader told her she should stay in the kitchen making scones where she belonged, and not to go drinking with boys.


She left the table where they were drinking to collect a five-litre container of petrol from her garage, and poured it on Mr Loader before waving around her lighter.

Mr Loader said, "Go on, do it," before Walpole set him on fire.


'Pushed her over the edge'

The court heard that Walpole had been in a relationship at the time that had left her feeling trapped and depressed, and led to her abusing drugs and alcohol from late 2022.

Her legal representative, Peter Neil SC, said Walpole had been antagonised by Mr Loader consistently throughout the night, which "pushed her over the edge".

"She simply had completely lost it," he said.

Mr Neil said the incident was exacerbated by her drug and alcohol abuse.

Crown prosecutor Max Pincott said Walpole had plenty of time to calm down.

"You could have walked away from this, couldn't you, but you didn't," he said.

Mr Pincott said Walpole's actions were so far beyond reasonable proportion that there was no argument of provocation.


'No one deserves what happened'

Walpole sobbed intensely on the witness stand as she described the shock of her own violent actions.

"To this day I feel horrible, remorseful, guilty for what I have done to Jake, not only Jake but his family, his loved ones, his mutual friends … anyone who has been impacted in this entire case," she said.

"I find it very hard to believe the injuries that were caused was from my doing.

"I would do anything to go back in time.

"No one deserves what happened to Jake and I can't imagine the pain — both physically and emotionally — that I've caused him and his family."


Life turned 'upside down'

Mr Loader did not attend court but his victim impact statement read by the Crown highlighted how the crime had traumatised his life.

Mr Loader sustained burns to 55 per cent of his body, was in an induced coma for eight days, spent 74 days in a burns unit at Melbourne hospital The Alfred, and underwent 10 operations.

Mr Loader can no longer expose his skin to the sun, and struggles with temperature regulation as his sweat glands were burnt off.

He also lost income, and financial pressure was put on his family who travelled to be with him.

"This attack did not only hurt me, it hurt everyone who cared about me," his statement read.

Walpole is due to return to court for sentencing later this month.

Written by Erin Somerville, ABC News.